Family wins payout in overcrowded housing case

Brent Council had a duty to house the family

A north-west London council has been ordered to pay a family of six more than £3,600 after they were left living in a "severely overcrowded" two-bedroom property.

An investigation by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) found that Brent Council was at fault for failing to offer the family more appropriate housing

The ombudsman found the council left the family in the property for 18 months longer than necessary despite accepting it was "unsuitable".

Brent Council said it had apologised to the family and they had since been offered suitable accommodation.

Referred to in the ombudsman’s report as "Mrs X", the mother had first complained to the council in November 2021 about the family’s living conditions, which were causing them "distress and uncertainty".

The local authority accepted homeless duty for the family in August 2022, however, it failed to find them suitable accommodation until January 2024 – after she had made a formal complaint.

The ombudsman ordered the council to apologise to Mrs X and pay her £3,600 "to recognise the distress of living in unsuitable overcrowded accommodation" for that length of time.

According to the report, records showed that Mrs X contacted the council on numerous occasions between mid-2022 and mid-2023 for updates on the situation.

On many occasions she did not get any response to her calls or emails and the ombudsman noted there was "no evidence of any offer of temporary or permanent accommodation" made to the family.

Councillor Promise Knight, who holds responsibility for housing at Brent Council, said: "We have apologised to Mrs X about how her case was handled.

"She should have been offered suitable accommodation after we accepted our housing duty towards her."